This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol. 4

With the 2017 Australian Open completed, WTA players turned to events in St. Petersburg and Taipei, while the men traveled all over to begin their countries' quests for Davis Cup glory. Kristina Mladenovic won the first WTA title of her career in St. Petersburg, while world #13 Elina Svitolina took home the trophy in Taipei City. Elsewhere, defending Davis Cup champions Argentina (without Juan Martin del Potro) lost 3-2 to Italy. But, the biggest news of the week came out of Ottawa where Canadian Denis Shapovalov was defaulted in the deciding rubber versus Great Britan, after a ball he hit in frustration struck the chair umpire in the eye.

​ #ThisWeekInTennisrecaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN

Kristina Mladenovic won the first title of her career, defeating Yulia Putintseva in St. Petersburg. On her way to the title, Mladenovic beat Venus Williams 6-3 6-1, and defending Champion Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, before saving four match points in the final against Putintseva.

Elina Svitolina won the title in Taipei, the fifth her career. She scored identical 6-3 6-2 wins over Mandy Minella in the semifinals and Peng Shuai in the final.

After opening round action of Davis Cup this weekend, the Quarterfinals (April 7-9) are all set and the draw is as follows: Italy vs Belgium, United States vs Australia, France vs Great Britain, and Spain vs Serbia.